Jax was curled up beneath the shadow of a massive pine tree, his body still in wolf form, black fur streaked with dirt and leaves. He looked better than before—at least fed—but the moment Finric stepped into view, his posture changed.
Tense. Defensive.
Finric tried again.
"Jax," he said gently. "It's me. Do you—"
The wolf lifted his head and stared directly at him. There was a flicker—just a flicker—of confusion. Something in his eyes sparked, like a memory trying to surface.
But then it was gone.
Jax's ears flattened.
Jax: Leave he said through the mindlink. One word.
Cold. Final.
He can mindlink. An improvement from the last 2 days, Fin thought. He didn't press further. He dipped his head once, turned, and quietly walked away.
Shifting back, he followed Nova's scent trail, finding her about a half-mile back, hidden among the trees in her sleek white wolf form. She had been watching from afar. He felt her pulse through the bond, defeated.
They ran side by side, paws pounding against dirt and leaf, wind rushing past their ears.
Then—
Nova tensed, ears twitching. Her pace stuttered, and she skidded to a stop.
Finric slowed beside her.
She stared into the woods, nose lifted, body tense.
Nova: Did you see that?
Her voice. Through the link. For the first time in her wolf form.
Finric's heart kicked.
Fin: No. What's wrong?
She didn't answer in words, but through the mate bond, he felt it. The flicker of self-doubt. Then fear.
He froze and sniffed the air.
That's when he caught it. A scent that didn't belong. It wasn't shifter. It wasn't mage. Or was it? He couldn't tell. All he knew was it was… wrong.
Fin: Stay behind me.
They ran again, faster now, urgency lacing every stride. The scent grew stronger—and stranger. It wasn't fixed in one place. It surrounded them, moved with them.
Then—he saw it. A dark figure stepped from the shadows. Cloaked. Hooded. Unmoving.
Fin slid to a stop, muscles rippling beneath his obsidian-black fur, baring his fangs. Nova skidded to a halt behind him, her white fur bristling.
The figure raised a hand and from the forest floor, a slick pool of tar-like liquid began to bubble. It started to rise and shift, forming something.
Eyes. Claws. Limbs that didn't belong to any living creature.
Fin's heart pounded.
A wraithbeast. Twisted by dark magic. A shadow-spawned monster that hadn't been seen in centuries.
Shit.
Then came the smoke. Black, creeping tendrils slithered across the forest floor, clawing their way toward them, hissing like snakes.
A burst of raw power surged from Nova, silver light exploding outward. But not touching Fin.
The black smoke recoiled violently.
The hooded figure stumbled back a step, surprised.
Finric's stomach dropped. Shit.
She just exposed herself.
Not just to him—but to it.
Fin's wolf commented:
Xeon: Her white wolf form isn't exactly subtle. She was already exposed.
The hooded figure looked up, his voice like ice cracking across still water.
"Shift."